Safe Return

We just returned from Mexico on Monday after a two week stay. We had to take Abner's sister to the ER yesterday - apendicitis, and she had surgery last night. Doctor said it had ruptured. Please pray that she has no complications and that she can go home safely within a week. I'll give a full post in the next couple of days (with pics) about our experience in Tabasco. Thanks for your prayers for safe travel - and grace to deal with a two year old and 3 month old. Things went really well. More in a few days

We've Moved

Our Kaitlyn is growing, and getting more and more beautiful






Melodee's first experience holding kitties.






Here's a picture of us on our last official Sunday at our church. Thanks to Pastor Tommy and all of our friends there who have been so supportive of us!









We've finally moved out of our apartment in Harlingen and in with my uncle Ray and aunt Cyndie (aka Tio and Tia) in Brownsville. They have been very generous in allowing us to live with them until we leave in September, and with a (almost) three year old and two month old - that's no small thing.

Getting out of the apartment was quite a feat because of all the end of the year stuff going on at Abner's and my schools. We moved out by Thursday, May 31st, and the last day of school for us was that Saturday, June 2nd. It was very, very hectic and stressful. But by the grace of God and the help of Abner's brother and sister-in-law, we were able to clear out and make the place spotless just in time. Thank you George and Eliza and kids! Besitos!

We still have a large collection of stuff in storage to weed through, but incredibly, all four of us are living out of one room with the barest necessesities - and doing just fine. It's actually something of a relief to have downsized our lives! There's a sense of freedom that comes with fewer things. I'm really feeling your comment about the simple life, Abu D...

We also have gotten the camper put on our truck! Thanks to Hosanna (our church) and New Life Outreach (my dad's church), we were able to order and pay off the camper completely. What a HUGE blessing. We're planning a trip down to Comalcalco the first week of July, and it'll be great to be able to take things down in the back of the truck with no anxiety. Here's a pic of the truck and camper:



We want to let you know about our other website - web.mac.com/abnerandkelly
The mac site will be our ministry webpage, and I'll dedicate this blog more towards personal stuff. So please check out our other page this next month as we post pictures, video (hopefully), and info about Comalcalco and Tabasco.

Thankful

Another praise to report this morning...we sold our piano! We had a beautiful ebony Yamaha upright that Abner has reigned over since we moved into our apartment. There was no way, however, that we could haul it all the way to Tabasco without risking serious damage. We put an ad in the Bargain Book (a free publication in the Valley that lists services and items for sale), hoping to get a nibble or two. A gentleman called last week, but our contact was hit and miss. Abner called him again yesterday with the off-chance that he'd still like to come see it. Lo and behold, he calls at 10 pm last night that he's at our apartment complex with his family. They come in, we all chat (very lovely people), he says "Let's close the deal", he writes a check for the piano, and VOILA! Done! He and his wife are both doctors, so I think the check will clear (smile). He said he rarely ever looks in the Bargain Book, but he did on a "whim" last week. Hmmm...thank God for divine "whims", eh? *chuckle*

Another major concern crossed off the moving list!

Clean up, clean up, everybody, everywhere...

Ok. So does anyone else out there in cyberland care to take more of our stuff off our hands? Just when I think I'm making great progress in clearing out the house, I find there is infinitely more beneath. Now we're getting down to the small knick-knacky stuff that is tedious to deal with. I'm about to throw it all in a box and drop it at the Salvation Army's front door. Actually, we've already taken a giant load to our local S.A. store. -sigh- At least I'm not having to PACK it all just to UNPACK it later. Thank the Lord for small blessings.

In family news - we're heading up to Pleasanton this weekend for my youngest sister's (Kathleen) high school graduation. Melodee is pumped about seeing Gramma and Grampa...not to mention her aunts (and Uncle Taylor) who spoil her rotten. Now we have Kaitlyn to spoil too! It will be great fun. I should have some nice photos to post next week.

The school year is almost over (do I hear a colletive Hallelujah echoing out there?)! I am strangely calm and serene about the usually stressful end of year procedures coming up. Maybe not so strange since it's my last year to deal with them. I will certainly miss my close friends and coworkers, but I know it's time for me to leave. Teaching ESL in Mexico is getting more and more exciting, and I find myself inspired again! It shouldn't take long for me to get some sort of program started in the church. My hope is that it will quickly turn into a free or minimal-cost program for the community, also providing a platform for relational evangelism.

"Let us touch the dying, the poor, the lonely and the unwanted according to the graces we have received, and let us not be ashamed or slow to do the humble work."
- Mother Teresa
Amen.

Be blessed, ya'll!

Check it out...

For those of you who, like me, are accutely aware of the increasing presence of Islam in our country and the world, I suggest you check out the blog "Islam and Christianity" I have listed under Favorites. The blogger is a friend of mine from college who has a missionary's heart, is well-versed in Christian apologetics, and who lives in the Middle East. I respect him immensely, and I am certainly the better for having read the provoking thoughts and questions that arise.

If you find, as I have, that you are to some degree or other ignorant about Islamic belief systems and traditions, you may discover that his site is a great starting point for further discovery. He has many links to interesting articles and websites, while discussing important folks involved in the world's dialogue on Islam.

Needless to say, I highly recommend this blog to all of you. We need to be informed in order to have any ability to participate in the discussion with or about the Muslim world. And how can effective evangelism happen unless we know what we're dealing with?